Posted on 07/14/2025 20:20 PM (CNA Daily News)
Charitable organizations distribute food to displaced people in shelter tents in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on June 9, 2024. / Credit: Anas-Mohammed/Shutterstock
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jul 14, 2025 / 16:20 pm (CNA).
As U.N. agencies issue dire warnings of humanitarian collapse in Gaza, the Catholic arm of an organization that promotes Christian engagement in the Near East has announced a nine-day novena prayer for peace in the Holy Land to begin on July 16.
The Philos Project’s “Nine-Day Novena to Pray for Peace in the Holy Land” comes as Israel has intensified its bombardment of Gaza, and eight U.N. agencies have indicated that “without fuel, their lifesaving work may soon come to a halt.” Over the weekend, BBC reported the deaths of 10 people, including six children, who were killed in a July 13 Israeli airstrike while waiting to fill their containers of water in central Gaza.
Fifty Israel hostages remain in Hamas captivity, including the bodies of at least 28 that Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have confirmed dead, according to a Times of Israel report. Twenty hostages are believed to be alive, while “grave concerns for the well-being of two others” remain.
The novena will begin July 16 on the feast of Our Lady of Carmel and end on July 24, the feast of St. Charbel of Mount Lebanon. A similar novena was held last year. This year, according to the Director of Philos Catholic Simone Rizkallah, participants will “dare to ask for more,” lifting up their prayers for an end to the conflict.
“This jubilee year [of hope] reminds us that God’s promises are never revoked,” Rizkallah said, adding: “Let’s pray boldly together.”
The novena’s intentions are for a complete end to the conflict in the Holy Land, the return of all hostages, the rebuilding of devastated communities, the healing of deep wounds and the restoration of trust, and a prophetic sign of peace: that one day soon, Christians may walk safely on pilgrimage from Mount Carmel to Mount Lebanon, two sacred peaks tied by faith, history, and hope.
Last year, the Philos Project’s “emergency novena,” which was prayed by more than 1,000 people, centered on prayers for peace between Israel and Lebanon.
“We began on the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, asking that Lebanon be spared from imminent war,” Rizkallah recalled. “Against all odds, peace has held. Dialogue, not destruction, has taken root between Lebanon and Israel. It was almost unimaginable a year ago.”
At the time, the novena was in response to ongoing clashes between the Israeli military and Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed, Shiite Muslim militant group based in Lebanon.
Posted on 07/14/2025 08:09 AM ()
Following a weekend of anti-migrant violence in Torre Pacheco, Spain, marked by far-right attacks on North African youths, the Bishop of Cartagena condemns the unrest and calls for peace, coexistence, and Christian witness in the face of rising tensions.
Posted on 07/14/2025 06:55 AM ()
Fr. Lowrent Kamwanza of the Missionaries of Africa tells Vatican News that safeguarding children and vulnerable persons against all forms of abuse is an ongoing process of conversion, formation and accountability.
Posted on 07/14/2025 05:28 AM ()
UN agencies warn of imminent collapse as bombings, hunger and forced displacement continue.
Posted on 07/14/2025 04:34 AM ()
A security officer is killed and 3 seminarians are kidnapped in an armed attack at the Immaculate Conception Minor Seminary in Edo State, Nigeria.
Posted on 07/14/2025 03:59 AM ()
For five weeks on Flores Island, 26 parishes partake in processions and prayers ahead of the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Posted on 07/14/2025 02:10 AM ()
Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, the Vatican's Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations, is visiting India this week to 'strengthen bonds of friendship and collaboration.'
Posted on 07/13/2025 06:04 AM ()
A large and diverse crowd welcomed Pope Leo XIV for Mass at the parish of St. Thomas of Villanova, his first public event in the town of Castel Gandolfo, as thousands of people lined the main street connecting Villa Barberini to the Apostolic Palace and gathered in Freedom Square.
Posted on 07/13/2025 05:41 AM ()
Emergency services say ten Palestinians, including six children, were killed in an Israeli airstrike targeting a refugee camp in Gaza on Saturday.
Posted on 07/13/2025 05:05 AM ()
At the conclusion of the Angelus in Castel Gandolfo, Pope Leo XIV asked everyone to pray for all those who are suffering and in need due to war, while recalling Saturday's beatification in Barcelona of Marist Brother Licarion May, who was killed in the early 1900s out of hatred for the faith.
